Shop with a Cop II: Pay It Forward (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: This year, the Allen family helps Five-0 at the annual Shop with a Cop event.


**Notes:** Thank you to Mari and Sammy for the brainstorming help and the amazing feedback, as always.

Readers and REAL McRollers – Your support and enthusiasm for the Allen family warms my heart in a way I can't really describe. I can't believe it's been a year since I first wrote about these characters. Thank you for so wholly embracing them and for your amazing support of the REAL World!

Hope you enjoy!

 **Thank you to all the people in communities across the country who make events like Shop with a Cop happen.**

* * *

 _Shop with a Cop II: Pay It Forward (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

Wednesday evening, Steve glanced at the caller ID on his ringing phone before answering it. "Cody, hey."

" _Hey_ ," Cody's voice came over the line.

"What's up?"

" _Um . . . so, my mom was saying how you guys are doing that . . . Shop with a Cop thing again . . ._ "

Steve nodded. "Yeah, we are. On Saturday."

" _Right, so, um . . . I was thinking . . . er, we were thinking . . . er, wondering, I guess, if we could help, too._ "

Steve quirked an eyebrow, and a smile slowly grew on his face. "You want to help?"

" _Yeah, with, I don't know, whatever they need. Like, with serving breakfast, or wrapping presents or delivering stuff or whatever._ "

"I–"

He was interrupted by a voice in the background chanting, " _Boo Ya! Boo Ya! Boo Ya!_ "

"What is that?" Steve asked, his brow knitted.

Cody sighed heavily. " _That's . . . Jacob. Being a minion._ "

Steve chuckled. "I take it he's been watching the movie?"

" _Pretty much non-stop since his birthday,_ " Cody said wearily. His voice grew muffled as he spoke to his brother. " _Hey, King Jake, can you hold it down a minute? I'm on the phone._ "

Running footsteps could be heard, and Jacob's voice sounded closer when he asked, " _Who are you talking to?_ "

" _Steve,_ " Cody said. _"I'm asking him if we can help with the Shop with a Cop thing. Remember we talked about that?_ "

" _Yeah!_ " Jacob exclaimed. _"Lemme talk to him._ "

" _Jake–_ "

" _Pleeeease?_ "

Cody sighed with amused exasperation, and his voice came over the line again clearly, " _Uh, Steve, Jacob wants to talk to you._ "

"Okay," Steve said, chuckling.

There was a brief pause, and then he heard, " _Uncle Steve?_ "

"Yeah, Jacob," Steve said. I'm here."

" _So can we?_ " the young boy asked eagerly. " _Help, I mean?_ "

"Jacob, I think that's a fantastic idea," Steve said sincerely.

" _It was Cody's idea. But we all 'greed with him._ "

Steve smiled. "That's great," he said. "I'm really glad you all want to help."

" _Yeah._ "

"Okay, can you put your brother back on?"

" _Okay,_ " Jacob said. " _Hey, is Aunt Catherine there?_ "

"Uh, no, she's not right now."

" _Oh_ ," Jacob's voice deflated a little, and Steve could picture his shoulders sagging. But he brightened quickly and said, " _Well, tell her I said hi. And tell Uncle Danny and Grace and Uncle Chin and Aunt Kono, too._ "

Steve chuckled. "Okay. But now that you're gonna help us, you'll see them in a couple days."

" _Oh yeah!_ " Jacob cried. " _Okay. Bye, Uncle Steve! Here's Cody._ "

"Bye, Jacob."

" _Steve?_ " Cody's voice returned.

"Yeah."

" _Sorry about that_."

Steve smiled, shaking his head. "Not at all. I wish I had half his energy."

Cody chuckled. " _Yeah_.

"Cody, I think it's really great that you want to help this year," Steve said sincerely. He shook his head. "And knowing you like I do, I'm not surprised you thought of it," he added, pride clear in his voice. He nodded. "I'll make it happen, okay?"

" _Okay_ ," Cody said, his voice lighter and more confident.

"I'll text you and your mom the details, all right?"

" _Yeah_."

"And we'll see you on Saturday."

He could hear the smile in Cody's voice when the teen answered, " _Definitely._ "

* * *

On Saturday, the Five-0 team and Grace gathered with dozens of other off-duty law enforcement officers, military personnel, and volunteers in front of the Ke'eaumoku Walmart.

Steve stood reviewing details with Duke who was once again spearheading the event. He looked up when he heard a familiar voice yell, "BUDDIIIIIIIIIES!"

Jacob was running toward them on the sidewalk at full tilt while the rest of his family hurried to catch up.

"Bello!" Jacob cried, waving frantically as he reached them.

Steve's brow furrowed in confusion. "Wh–"

Duke waved back at Jacob. "Bello!" Steve and the rest of Five-0 looked at him. He shrugged. "What? I've seen the minion movie."

Jacob beamed and gave him a high five. "Buddyyyy!"

As the rest of the family joined the group, Steve said, "Duke, you remember the Allens." He motioned to each. "Jenna and her kids: Cody, Casey, Dylan, Kaitlyn, and Jacob."

"Of course," Duke said, smiling warmly. "I'm glad you all are volunteering this year."

"Yeah," Jacob said and nodded seriously. "Because we needed help last year and now some other kids need help. So we should help them, too."

Behind him, Jenna looked on proudly.

Duke smiled. "You know there's a name for that."

Jacob's eyes widened. "There is?"

"Yes. It's called paying it forward."

"Hey, I've heard that," Casey said. "Like when someone does nice something for you, instead of repaying _them_ , you do something nice for someone else."

Duke nodded. "Exactly."

"And I could not be prouder that you guys wanted to help," Jenna said, putting an arm around Cody's shoulder and squeezing as she smiled at her children.

"And you know what else?" Kaitlyn said.

"What?" Danny asked.

"It's like our anniversary!" she exclaimed, raising both hands in an excited gesture. " 'Cause this is where we met!"

Catherine smiled. "That's right. And I can't think of a better way to celebrate."

Beside her, Grace nodded enthusiastically.

"Me either," Steve agreed with a quick nod at Cody.

"Well, the buses will be here any minute," Duke said. "Jenna, let me introduce you to Kalena. She's coordinating the volunteers."

"Okay," Jenna said, taking a step toward him.

"What are we gonna do?" Kaitlyn asked.

"You're gonna come with us," Steve said.

Kono nodded. "Yeah, we figured since you guys did this last year, you could help us with the new group of kids." She smiled encouragingly. "Show them the ropes."

Jacob nodded eagerly, taking Catherine's hand. "Yeah!"

His siblings voiced their agreement to the plan and after a few quick hugs, Jenna followed Duke toward the store to find out where she would be helping.

"Hey, guess what," Jacob said as they waited. "Last night we went to Cody's school 'cause there was music."

"Yeah, a concert," Kaitlyn added eagerly. "Jess was in it! With her flute!"

"It was pretty cool," Casey admitted.

Cody smiled proudly.

"Oh yeah?" Chin said with interest. "That's awesome. You know, I played the trumpet in high school."

"You did?" Dylan asked.

Chin nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"Raw," Dylan said.

"It was fun," Jacob said. "I want to be a band guy now."

"What instrument do you want to play, Jacob?" Kono asked.

"I want to be the guy that does this." He waved his hands in imitation of the conductor.

"Ohh," Catherine said. "The conductor."

"Or a tuba," Jacob said.

Danny grinned. "You mean a tuba guy?"

Jacob nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"

"I think a tuba's bigger than you are, buddy," Steve said, his lip twitching.

"Not till I'm _big_ like Cody, Uncle Steve," Jacob said, looking at him as if it was obvious.

Steve smiled. "Oh right. Of course," he said, sharing an amused look with Cody.

The school buses arrived shortly after with the kids for this year's event. The same retired police officer as last year was dressed as Santa and greeted the participants with a "Ho, Ho, Ho!" as they stepped off the bus.

Duke and the other organizers began matching up kids with their assigned shopping partners.

He brought a young boy about Jacob's age over to the Five-0 group.

"Lieutenant Rollins, this is Tayshawn."

Catherine smiled warmly. "Hi, Tayshawn. You can call me Lieutenant Catherine." She motioned beside her. "And this–"

"I'm Jacob!" Jacob said with a wave. "Bello!"

Tayshawn's eyes widened, taking in Jacob's bright yellow t-shirt. "You like minions?"

Behind them, Casey covered a snort, and she and Kono exchanged a smile as did the rest of the group.

"Like 'em?" Jacob said. "I love 'em!"

"KING BOB!" Tayshawn cried, raising both arms in the air.

"KING BOB!" Jacob echoed.

Catherine looked back at her team with wide eyes. "Oh boy," she mouthed.

Danny snickered and patted her on the shoulder consolingly. "Have fun with that, Cath."

Within about five minutes, everyone was matched up except Casey and Kono. Duke had told them their participant was running a little late but would be there soon.

Chin and Dylan stood with a ten-year-old named Kevin. Jacob and Tayshawn had jumped excitedly, squealing his name in minion voices and running in circles around him when Duke had brought him over, but Cody calmed them down and they returned to Catherine's side, anxious to get started.

Danny, Grace, and Kaitlyn had been matched up with twin seven-year-old girls who held each other's hands tightly as they were introduced.

"This is Aria and Lily," Duke said.

"Those are really nice names," Grace said. "I'm Grace, and this is Kaitlyn. And this is my dad, Detective Williams."

Danny smiled at the young girls. "I prefer Detective Danny, if you don't mind."

Aria and Lily looked at each other, then smiled at him, their shyness already fading.

Steve and Cody stood in nearly identical poses with their hands on their hips when Duke brought a thirteen-year-old boy over.

"Commander, Cody, I'd like you to meet Dante."

Before Steve could speak, Cody held out a hand. "I'm Cody."

Dante looked surprised, but tentatively shook Cody's hand as Steve looked on proudly.

Meanwhile, Jacob was telling Tayshawn, "It's gonna be _so_ much fun shopping with Aunt Catherine. She's really smart and nice."

Tayshawn glanced at her, then turned back to Jacob asking, "She is?" as if Catherine wasn't right beside them.

"Yeah, but she already has a boyfriend and it's Uncle Steve," Jacob said seriously, pointing toward Steve who noticed the gesture and excused himself briefly to head their way. "He's really tall but he's nice, too," Jacob assured Tayshawn.

Catherine put a hand to her mouth, trying not to laugh out loud.

"You good to go?" Steve asked when he reached them.

"Yep," Catherine said, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Yeah," Jacob said. "Don't worry, Uncle Steve. I told Tayshawn that you're Aunt Catherine's boyfriend."

Steve blinked and cocked his head, eyebrows raised. "That . . . came up?" he asked and glanced at Catherine who bit back her amused smile.

"Yeah," Jacob said and nodded matter-of-factly.

Steve chuckled, ruffling his hair. "Well, thanks for looking out for me, buddy."

"I just wanna make sure he knows."

Steve nodded. "Right."

Jacob looked at Catherine, then leaned toward Steve with his hand cupped to mouth and lowered his voice, though it was still plainly audible. " 'Cause it's _Aunt Catherine,_ " he said with a meaningful look. "You know what I mean?"

Steve's eyes softened as they went to Catherine, and he smiled. "I know what you mean."

Catherine smiled back before turning to the two boys and holding out both her hands to them. "Well, are you ready?"

Jacob jumped and grabbed one of her hands. "Yeah!"

"Yeah!" Tayshawn echoed, taking her other hand.

"Then let's shop!" Catherine said.

"Para tú !" Jacob cried, grinning and pointing at Tayshawn.

With a parting look for Steve that was half smile half cringe, Catherine headed toward the store with the two boys who started marching and swinging their arms as they chanted, "Boo Ya! Boo Ya! Boo Ya!"

Steve chuckled as he watched for a moment, then walked back to Cody and Dante.

"Is she gonna be okay with them?" Cody asked worriedly. "I mean, Jacob the minion can be a handful but with two of 'em . . ."

"She'll be fine," Steve assured him. He looked at Dante. "Are you ready?"

Dante shrugged. "I guess."

"First thing we're gonna need is a cart," Cody said.

Steve grinned at him knowingly, recalling the previous year. " _That_ is an excellent idea."

Cody smiled genuinely. "I learned from the best."

* * *

Kono and Casey insisted the other groups go in and get started shopping while they waited for their participant.

A few minutes later, Duke approached with a girl who looked about twelve pushing herself in a wheelchair while a woman walked beside her.

"Sorry you had to wait," the girl said when they got close enough. "I'm Lailah." She released her grip on one of her wheels and held out her hand.

Kono smiled, shaking it. "No problem at all," she said easily. "I'm Kono. Nice to meet you, Lailah." She gestured beside her. "This is my friend Casey. She's gonna go shopping with us, if that's okay with you."

"Fine with me," Lailah said with a little shrug and nod. She smiled at Casey.

Kono looked at the woman with Lailah.

"I'm Lailah's mom," the woman said, her hands folded in front of her and her thumb rubbing against her index finger. "I'm not coming in, I just wanted to check things out, you know . . ."

"Of course," Kono said and extended her hand. "Kono Kalakaua, with Five-0, and this is Casey Allen."

"Lana Oline." She glanced at her daughter with a little smile. "We were going to do this last year, but . . . well . . ." She chuckled awkwardly, looking at Kono. "I guess I was too nervous. But Lailah's so much more independent now . . ."

"I'll be fine, Mom," Lailah said wearily, but not unkindly.

Lana sighed. "I know you will."

"We're gonna have a great time," Kono assured the other woman.

"And the pancakes after are _awesome_ ," Casey added, smiling at Lailah who grinned back.

"I _love_ pancakes."

"Me, too," Casey enthused. "Have you ever tried them with bananas? My little brother's birthday was last week and my mom made banana pancakes."

"Lemme guess, your brother's obsessed with the minions."

" _Totally_ obsessed."

Lailah laughed, and Casey grinned at her.

Kono caught Lana's eye and gave her a reassuring nod before turning to the girls. "You two ready to go inside?"

"Yeah," both said, then laughed at how they'd spoke in unison.

"Thanks, Duke," Kono said.

He nodded with a pleased smile at how quickly the girls had connected. "Sure."

"Have fun, honey," Lana said. She tried to smile even as she bit her lip. "I'll be here when you finish."

"Okay," Lailah said, pushing herself toward the front doors with Casey next to her.

"I love you," Lana called after her.

Lailah kept her forward momentum going, but raised a hand and waved. "Love you, too."

Kono smiled once more at Lana, then turned to catch up with the girls.

Lana stared after them anxiously, and Duke touched her arm. "Come on, I'll show you where you can wait."

Nodding, she walked with him, continuously glancing to where the small group had disappeared.

After entering the store, Lailah and Casey paused as Kono stepped over to the rows of shopping carts.

"It was a car accident," Lailah said suddenly and matter-of-factly. "Two years ago."

"What?" Casey said, surprised.

Lailah shrugged. "People always wonder, so I figure I'll just save time. Injured my spinal cord, so I can't walk."

"Wow," Casey said, her brow knitting. "That . . . sucks. I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Lailah said and shrugged again. "But there's tons of stuff I can do, so I don't worry about the couple things I can't."

"I think that's an awesome outlook, Lailah," Kono said.

" 'Poster Child for Positivity,' " Lailah said with a laugh. "That's what Jean, my counselor at group, calls me."

Kono smiled. "Sounds likes she's exactly right."

"And it's why I'm captain of my basketball team."

"Whoa, really?" Casey asked in amazement. "Captain? That's so cool. When track starts in the spring, I want to be one of the captains." She sighed. "But there's a lot of other eighth graders on the team, too."

"So you've gotta show your coach and your teammates why you should be one of the captains," Kono said, and not for the first time.

"I know, I know," Casey said with a little smile.

"Well, as captain of _this_ little team," Kono said, looking between the two. "I say we need to get shopping."

"Wait, shouldn't _I_ be the captain?" Lailah asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Kono narrowed her eyes but couldn't hold back a smile. "Co-captains?"

Lailah and Casey exchanged a look, then grinned back at her.

"Co-captains," Lailah agreed. Grabbing her wheels, she spun toward the center aisle. "Let's do this."

* * *

"So, ladies . . ." Danny began as he strolled down the aisle pushing a shopping cart while Grace, Kaitlyn, and the two young girls walked beside him. "Who do we need to find presents for?"

"Daddy," Aria started.

"And Grandma," Lily added, still holding her twin's hand.

"Mr. Kahele," Aria continued. "That's my teacher."

"Oh!" Lily said. "And _my_ teacher, Ms. Simon."

"That's nice you want to get presents for your teachers," Grace said. "I always do, too."

The girls smiled as Danny looked on proudly.

"Do you have any brothers and sisters?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Besides each other," Grace clarified.

"Nope," Aria said.

"Just you two and your dad?" Danny asked with a small smile.

"And Grandma," Lily was quick to say. "We live at her house."

"Yeah," Aria said. "We moved there 'cause Daddy didn't have a job for a long time."

"But now he does!" Lily continued, her face brightening.

"Yeah, it's good 'cause he smiles more now," Aria said, looking at her sister.

"Yeah," Lily agreed. Her expression fell slightly, and her pace slowed. "But . . ."

"But what?" Kaitlyn asked as they stopped walking.

Lily glanced at Aria and continued quietly, "He says maybe we can get our own place . . . but I like living with Grandma. And I don't like moving. It's sad."

"It can be a little sad to move," Grace admitted with a small nod. "But then maybe the new place you move turns out to be really great." She smiled encouragingly. "That's what happened to me. I miss New Jersey . . . my family there especially . . . but if I hadn't moved here, I wouldn't have Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine and Linda and Kaitlyn and Scout and all my other family and friends."

Danny reached over and squeezed her shoulder, and she leaned against him, smiling.

"I had to move last year, too," Kaitlyn said quietly. "Because there was a fire at our house." Her shoulders hunched slightly, and Grace took her hand. "And it was scary for a little bit. There was this emergency place where we slept and then we moved to an apartment for a while." She smiled a little. "I kind of liked that because it was small and my mom slept with me, so when I got scared at night, she was right there."

The girls stared at her wide-eyed, waiting for more.

Kaitlyn's smile grew. "But then she got a new job and now we have another house, and that was a good move." She started to speak more quickly. "Everybody came and helped and now we have a backyard and I have a new friend Megan who lives by me and we have parties there and I really like it . . ." She glanced at Grace and smiled at her. "So I think Grace is right. The new place you move might be really great. You just gotta give it a chance."

"Yeah," Grace agreed.

Danny stepped over so he could rest a hand on Kaitlyn's shoulder as well as Grace's. He looked between them and said, " _That_ is excellent advice." He smiled at the younger girls.

Lily and Aria looked at each other. Their hands slowly unclasped as they turned back to Danny, Grace, and Kaitlyn, smiles growing on both their faces.

"So . . . any ideas on what you want to get your dad?" Danny asked.

The twins looked at each other once again and shook their heads.

"What would be good?" Aria asked them.

"Hmm . . . maybe you could get him something for his new job," Grace suggested.

"Yeah!" Kaitlyn immediately agreed. "Does he need anything?"

"I don't know . . ." Lily said, her forehead creasing as she thought.

"A lunch box!" Aria said suddenly.

"Oh yeah!" Lily agreed, nodding her head rapidly. "He always takes his lunch to work in a plastic bag."

Danny smiled. "Excellent. We'll find him a nice manly lunch box."

" 'Manly'!" Kaitlyn cried, laughing. "Uncle Danny!"

He smirked. "Hey, I'm just trying to look out for the guy." He looked around the store. "I bet lunch boxes and bags are with the kitchen stuff." Pointing, he said, "Thatta way."

He grabbed the cart once again and when he looked back, Aria had taken Grace's hand and Lily was now holding Kaitlyn's as they headed in the direction he had indicated.

With a proud, satisfied smile, Danny followed.

* * *

"Pull over here," Chin said, and Dylan steered the cart to the side of the aisle. Chin looked at Kevin. "Okay, so we finished with school supplies and got some clothes for you. That was the easy stuff. What about some gifts for your family?"

Kevin shrugged. "I don't have a big family. It's just my mom and me and my sister and my nephew. He's one."

"We'll find some fun stuff for him," Chin said. "For sure."

"He mostly just throws stuff around and kicks things over."

"Yeah, they'll do that," Chin said with a chuckle. "So no grandparents? Or anyone else on the island?"

"Nope. Why? You got a big family?"

"I have a huge family," Chin said. "Lots of aunties and uncles . . . and more cousins than I can count sometimes."

"I have four brothers and sisters," Dylan said. "Plus my mom."

"Do you like having a big family?" Kevin asked.

Dylan nodded with a little shrug. "Most of the time, yeah. Always got someone to play with."

Kevin sighed a little at that.

"And you know what else?" Dylan continued.

"What?"

"My family got even bigger this year 'cause now we got Uncle Chin and Aunt Kono and Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine and Uncle Danny and Grace. Plus Grandma Ang and Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Joseph and Mary and Joan and–"

Kevin looked between Chin and Dylan, confused. "You're in the same family?"

"Yeah," Dylan said immediately. "Uncle Steve says family isn't just born, it's also made. I didn't really get that at first, but now I know it means that family is . . . like . . . the people who really care about you." He looked at Chin. "Right?"

Chin smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "That's right."

They looked at Kevin who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"There's this lady who lives next door to us . . ." he said slowly. "She's kinda old, you know? Ms. Vera. She used to watch me if my sister wasn't around. I still help her in her garden sometimes. And she always comes over for holidays, too. Like Thanksgiving and Christmas." He paused. "I think . . . I think maybe she's my family, too."

Chin smiled. "Then maybe we find something for Ms. Vera, huh?"

"Yeah. Maybe . . . maybe something . . . for her garden?"

Dylan nodded, grinning.

Chin gave an approving nod. "Great idea." He looked between the two boys. "Hey, who's turn is it with the cart?"

"Mine!" Kevin said, grabbing the handle with both hands.

"Then let's go find the garden stuff."

* * *

Catherine quirked an eyebrow as yet another minion-themed product landed in their shopping cart.

Unsurprisingly, Jacob and Tayshawn had spent much of the morning talking in their own particular version of minion-ese. She had managed to get the gist of most of it.

When she looked closer at the latest addition to the pile in the cart, she said, "You know, I just want to throw this out there . . . but . . . do you think maybe not everyone in your family _wants_ minion stuff?"

Both boys turned to her with wide, disbelieving eyes.

She held up her hands. "I mean, don't get me wrong, some of this is great . . . I particularly like the walkie talkies shaped like minion eyes for you and your little brother to use."

Tayshawn and Jacob grinned at each other excitedly.

"And because it's your choice, that makes it special," she continued genuinely before pressing on. "But do you really think your granny wants minion toothpaste?" She looked closer at the tube and winced slightly. "Especially bubble-fruit flavored minion toothpaste?"

The boys exchanged glances.

Tayshawn twisted his lips in thought. "Mmm . . . pro'ly not. I don't even know if she brushes her teeth." He nodded sheepishly, looking up at her. "You're right, Lieutenant Catherine."

"Told you she was smart," Jacob said.

"Do you know everything, about _everything_?" Tayshawn asked her.

Catherine laughed. "No, definitely not. I learn new things every day."

He looked surprised. "You do?"

"Yeah, like today I learned Bob was king of England for a whole eight hours."

"KING BOB!" Jacob cried, throwing his hands in the air.

"KING BOB!" Tayshawn immediately echoed.

Catherine smiled indulgently. "And _now_ I'm going to learn what you think your granny would _really_ like for Christmas."

Jacob reached in the cart and pulled the toothpaste tube out, setting in back on the shelf as Tayshawn tapped his chin.

"She gots lots of ornaments for the Christmas tree," he said finally. "She said she likes to get more every year."

Catherine smiled. "Do you want to go look at the Christmas decorations, then?"

"Yeah!" he said excitedly.

"Maybe there'll even be a minion ornament," she said with a knowing smile.

Jacob and Tayshawn looked at each other with wide eyes.

"KUMBAYA!" they said at once, arms raised triumphantly.

Laughing, Catherine turned the cart around, and they headed in the direction of the holiday merchandise.

* * *

Steve, Cody, and Dante were near the electronics section when Steve's phone rang. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the caller ID, and he turned to the teens.

"I'm sorry, I have to take this," he said. "It should just be a minute."

Cody nodded, and they heard Steve say, "Governor . . ." as he stepped away.

Dante raised his eyebrows. "Like . . . the _governor_ governor?" he asked. "Of _Hawaii?_ "

"Yeah," Cody said. "The governor's like . . . his boss, basically."

Dante's gaze was captured by the rows of game consoles on display. He stepped over and looked longingly at the Xbox Ones.

"You got a Xbox?" he asked.

Cody shook his head. "Naw. I play sometimes at my friend's, but . . ."

"I don't got one either." He shook his head slowly, staring at the box. "Sure would be nice."

Cody shrugged. "I don't know."

"How much is on that gift card again?"

"$200," Cody said.

Dante looked at the price on the videogame console, and his shoulders sagged. "Not enough."

"You're supposed to be getting presents for your family," Cody reminded the younger teen. "Or maybe some clothes and school stuff if you need it."

"I know, but . . . I mean, everybody could use it if I got it."

"That's not really the point–"

"I know, I know, I was just saying," Dante said defensively. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around. "You did this whole thing last year, right?"

"Yeah."

"What'd _you_ get?"

"Stuff for my mom and my brothers and sisters. And a tree, since we didn't have one anymore."

"You didn't get anything for yourself?"

Cody shrugged. "My family's more important." He looked down as emotion clouded his face. "There was a fire . . . and we lost pretty much everything, so there was a lot we needed."

Neither teen noticed Steve approaching behind them.

"I don't know, man . . ." Dante said. "I got a lot of people in my family. I don't even know where to start. It'd be easier to just get one big thing."

"Just take 'em one at a time," Cody suggested. "You said you have a couple brothers, right?"

"Yeah, but they don't live with us." Dante shrugged. "I don't really see 'em much."

"That's okay, they're still your brothers."

"That's right," Steve said, and the two turned toward him in surprise. "And it's important to keep those relationships strong, so you don't regret it later." He gave Dante a meaningful look. "Because you never know what might happen."

Dante blinked, then looked down, growing thoughtful. Cody held Steve's gaze, taking in the shadow behind his mentor's eyes.

After a moment, Steve asked, "So . . . we done in this section?"

Dante glanced at Cody who looked at him questioningly. He gave a little smile. "Yeah, we done here." He turned back to Steve. "Can we go by the toys and games and stuff? I think my brother Malik still likes Hot Wheels."

Steve's eyes flicked to Cody who had a small, pleased smile on his face. He nodded. "All right, then. Hot Wheels it is."

* * *

"By my math, you've still got about fifty bucks left," Kono said, standing by the cart and looking at Lailah and Casey.

"That's enough for a blender, right?" Lailah asked.

"A blender? Sure."

" 'Cause my dad is always running late so he has a smoothie for breakfast on his way to work, but our blender broke and I heard him say we'd have to wait till next paycheck to replace it. But that's not till next month and by then, something else might come up, you know?"

Kono smiled. "I think that's really great you want to replace it for him."

Casey nodded. "Yeah."

"Things still aren't totally back to normal," Lailah said with a little sigh. "There were a lot of hospital bills. My parents don't want me to know about all that, but it's pretty obvious." She rolled back and forth in place as she continued, "Mom quit her job after the accident to take care of me, but I don't need so much help anymore. She used to work at Head Start and I know she really liked it. I think she should try to go back."

"Have you talked to her about it?" Kono asked.

"Yeah, but she always says she needs to be 'available' all the time, just in case something happens when I'm at school or whatever." She sighed again. "I love my mom, and I know why she worries . . . but I'm not helpless."

"Definitely not," Kono agreed.

"Maybe you should talk to her again," Casey said. "I mean, you said she liked working there."

Lailah nodded emphatically. "She did. And she was really good. The kids, like . . . loved her. We were putting up decorations this year and every time she pulled out an ornament that one of them had made or given her, she got this look on her face . . . I know she misses it."

"Then I definitely think you should convince her to go back to work," Casey said. "If you can get your basketball team to start practicing three times a week, you can convince her."

Lailah smiled and nodded confidently. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I can."

"And in the meantime," Kono said with a grin. "Let's go get your dad a blender."

* * *

After a full morning of shopping, breakfast, and photos with Santa Claus, the Shop with a Cop participants were saying goodbye before returning to the school buses.

Kono, Casey, and Jenna stood by Lailah and Lana who was looking far more relaxed. The adults were clearly exchanging phone numbers as Casey and Lailah talked excitedly.

Chin looked on proudly as Dylan explained to Kevin how the items he'd picked out would be delivered to his home later that day.

Aria and Lily each gave a Danny a hug before being led by Grace and Kaitlyn over to the waiting buses.

Jacob and Tayshawn were running in circles around Catherine, spouting off minion words and phrases. "Orlando!" "VillainCon!" and "Papaya!" could be heard clearly amidst the gibberish. Catherine took it all in stride, standing with her arms folded and shaking her head in amusement.

Danny nudged Steve, pointing at the scene. "Patience of a saint, that one," he said, indicating Catherine. "Of course, we already knew that since she's been putting up with you for what? Two decades?"

Steve just looked at him and smiled. He turned his attention to the two teens beside him.

"Thanks for uh . . . you know . . . helping me find stuff for my family," Dante was saying to Cody.

"Yeah, sure."

"I mean, it's pretty cool, I guess, that you did this last year and now you're like, on the other side of things . . ."

Cody looked down a little, nodding. "Yeah."

Dante looked around awkwardly. "Well, um . . . I gotta get on the bus . . . or I'm gonna end up sitting next to some little kid."

Cody chuckled. "Little kids aren't so bad."

Dante glanced over toward Jacob and Tayshawn who, at that moment, yelled, "BUDDIIIIIIIIIES!" as if they'd been separated for years and threw their arms around each other in a huge hug.

"Whatever you say, man," Dante said with a little wince.

He held his fist out, and Cody bumped it with his own.

"Merry Christmas," Cody said.

"Yeah, you, too," Dante replied. He looked at Steve. "Um . . . thanks, Commander."

Steve nodded. "You're welcome." He held his hand out and shook Dante's. "Have a good Christmas, Dante. Remember what I said, okay?"

Dante bit his lip, looking up at him. "Yeah, okay."

He backed up a few steps, and with a final nod, turned and headed for the bus.

Slowly, the rest of the group said their farewells, until just Five-0 and the Allens remained.

"That was a good day," Dylan said.

"Yeah," Casey agreed.

"Good idea, Cody," Kaitlyn said, smiling at her oldest brother.

He smiled back, ducking his head a little as Steve put a hand on his shoulder and nodded his agreement.

"Great idea," Steve said.

Jenna smiled proudly. "The best." She nodded. "Pay it forward."

Jacob looked around the group, smiling broadly. "I hope we get to pay it forward EVERY year!"

"You know what, Jake?" Cody said. "Me, too."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

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 _This holiday season, we're so grateful for our amazing readers! We'd like to invite you to ask us questions about the REAL World. Answers to select questions will appear in the end notes of the stories and on our Tumblr page from 12/21-1/2 during the_ _ **2nd Annual Holiday REAL World McRollathon!**_

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